Display case



Oc 28,1969 v c. HQSHALL 15,010

' DYISPLAY CASE Y Filed Feb. '1, 1968 27 I 43 2 .42 0 33 '35 V I \2 2sO' 33 Y Z- 32 FIG. 2

INVENTOR THOMAS C. HOSHALL flww, am Mud ATTORNEY FIG. 3

United States Patent 3,475,070 DISPLAY CASE Thomas C. Hoshall, 6716 N.Ann Arbor Terrace, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73132 Filed Feb. 7, 1968, Ser.No. 703,719 Int. Cl. A47f 96/00, 81/00; B65g N16 US. Cl. 312-117 11Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A display case for mercantile itemshaving a width of about three inches or greater which comprises anenclosure having an aperture through one surface thereof. The apertureis large enough to admit a human hand and small enough to preventwithdrawal of the mercantile item therethrough. The enclosure furtherdefines a space which is large enough to permit manipulation of themercantile item therein by hand introduced through the aperture.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to display cases, and moreparticularly, but not by way of limitation, to a display case whichpermits examination of articles contained therein but preventsunauthorized removal of the articles from the display case.

THE PRIOR ART In the marketing of various items, such as stereo tapecartridges for use in automobiles and the like, it is common to arrangesuch items on shelves accessible to the public for permitting inspectionof the merchandise by prospective purchasers. Due to the size of someitems, such as stereo tape cartridges, it is common for a prospectivepurchaser to conceal the item on his person and leave the premiseswithout paying for them.

While such items may be placed in a position inaccessible to the public,the sales expense is increased as it requires that at least one salesmanbe present to remove the merchandise from the enclosure within which itis stored to permit inspection by prospective customers. It is alsonecessary that the salesman remain in attendance while the customer isexamining the merchandise.

SUMMARY The present invention provides a display case which will permitinspection of merchandise such as stereo tape cartridges by prospectivecustomers without a salesman being present, but which will preventunauthorized removal of the merchandise from the display case.

The invention may be generally described as a case for displayingmercantile items having a width of about three inches or greater. Thecase includes an enclosure provided with an aperture through one surfacethereof, the aperture being large enough to admit a human hand but smallenough to prevent withdrawal of the mercantile item therethrough. Theenclosure also defines a space therein which is large enough to permitmanipulation of the mercantile item therein by a hand introduced throughthe aperture.

To be more specific, reference is here made to the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view, partially cut away, of oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side perspective view of yet another embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a rear view, partially cut away, of the embodiment of theinvention illustrated in FIGURE 2.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to FIGURE 1, the display casecomprises a first box-like member 11 to the face 12 of which 3,475,070Patented Oct. 28, 1969 "ice is affixed a transparent plastic sheet 13.The sheet is atfixed by a plurality of screws 14 or the like disposedabout the periphery of sheet 13. Display case 10 includes means forsupporting mercantile items, and the means in the embodiment of FIGURE 1take the form of a plurality of shelves 16 supported by support members18 which are disposed between and aflixed to top and bottom walls 19 and21 of box-like member 11. To permit access to the items stored onshelves 16, which, for example, may be stereo tape cartridges,transparent sheet 13 is provided with a plurality of apertures 22 whichare large enough in diameter to permit a human hand to be extendedthrough the aperture for removing an item from one of the shelves 16.

To permit inspection of the merchandise supported on shelves 16 by aprospective customer, box-like enclosure 11 and sheet 13 define a space23 therebetween which is large enough to permit manipulation of the itemstored on shelves 16 so that the customer may view all surfaces of theitem.

To stock shelves 16 or remove an item from them for sale to a customer,the back of box-like member 11 (not illustrated in FIGURE 1) of displaycase 10 is pivotally mounted thereto by hinges 24 to permit salespersonnel to gain access to the shelves 16 by way of the back of thedisplay case 10.

With reference to FIGURE 2, which illustrates yet another embodiment ofthe invention, a box-like member 25 mates with yet another box-likemember 26 constructed of a transparent material such as a plastic or thelike. Member 26 is slightly larger in dimension than member 25permitting members 25 and 26 to mate and be aflixed in a frontingrelationship by a plurality of screws 27. As illustrated in FIGURES 2and 3, box-like member 25 has a back wall 28 which is connected to oneedge of rectangular frame 29 by hinges 31 and 32 by means of screws 33or the like. The opposite edge of back wall 28 is affixed to theadjacent wall of rectangular member 29 by a conventional spring biaslatch assembly 34. One portion 35 of latch 34 is affixed to back wall 28and the other portion 36 is afiixed to wall 37 of rectangular member 29.This embodiment of the invention, as particularly illustrated in FIGURE3, also carries a plurality of shelves 38 which are supported byvertical supports 41. Supports 41 are disposed between and affixed tothe top and bottom rectangular member 29 by any conventional means.

By operation of latch 34, a salesman may place items on shelves 38 ofthe embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3 for subsequent inspectionby prospective customers. The prospective customer by extending a handthrough one of the apertures 42 in the transparent box-like member 26may remove an item from one of the shelves 38. The item once removedfrom shelves 38 may be manipulated within space 43, and if the itemmeets with his approval may summon a salesman to have it removed forhim.

The items, whether displayed in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1or the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3, will, of necessity, beof a width greater than about three inches to prevent their removal fromthe display case, since the apertures 22 in FIGURE 1 and 42 in theFIGURES 2 and 3 embodiment must be on the order of two and one-half tothree inches in diameter to readily admit a human hand. Stereo tapecartridges, which normally are four inches wide, five inches long andone inch thick may be conveniently displayed in either of theillustrated embodiments.

Various materials may be used in constructing a display case inaccordance with the present invention, and the embodiments illustratedare intended to be only representative.

For example, the surface provided with the aperture may comprise a wiremesh having either round or square apertures of a size to admit a humanhand, but prevent withdrawal of mercantile items. It will also be clearthat the front panel 13 in the FIGURE 1 embodiment or its counterpartthe box-like member 26 in the FIGURE 2 embodiment could be connected tothe remainder of the display case by hinges or the like and providedwith a suitable lock to permit access by authorized personnel. Such astructure would, of course, eliminate the need for a latch and hinges atthe back of the display case. Various other modifications willundoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art.

Further, while rather specific terms have been used in describing twoembodiments of the invention, they are not intended, nor should they beconstrued as a limitation upon the invention as defined by the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A case for displaying a plurality of mercantile items each having awidth of about three inches or greater, comprising:

an enclosure provided with a plurality of apertures through one wallthereof, said apertures being large enough to admit a human hand andsmall enough to prevent withdrawal of the mercantile item therethrough;and

plural means each for supporting one of said mercantile items withinsaid enclosure, said enclosure defining a space between said means forsupporting said mercantile items and the one wall having the apertures,which space is large enough to permit one of said items to be graspedand withdrawn into said space for manipulation by a hand extendedthrough one of said apertures.

2. The article of claim 1 wherein the surface provided with the apertureis formed of a transparent material.

3. The article of claim 1 wherein said enclosure is a six sidedpolyhedron having front and back walls, said front wall is provided withthe aperture, said means for supporting said article with said enclosurecomprises a shelf supported between side walls of said enclosure andpositioned proximate said rear wall, and said article includes:

means for permitting access to said enclosure through said rear wall.

4. The article of claim 3, wherein said means for permitting access tosaid enclosure through said rear wall comprises: i

at least one hinge joining one edge of said back wall to an adjacentwall of said enclosure; and

latch means joining the opposite edge of said back wall to an adjacentopposite wall of said enclosure.

5. The article of claim 1, wherein enclosure comprises:

a first transparent box-like portion having an open side;

a second box-like portion having an open side which mates with the firstbox-like portion to form a six sided polyhedron having a front wall anda back wall, the front wall being formed by said first box-like portionand having said aperture therein and the back wall being a portion ofsaid second box-like portion; and

means affixing said first and second box-like portions together.

6. The article of claim 5, wherein said means for supporting saidmercantile article comprises:

a shelf supported by said second box-like member.

7. The article of claim 6, which includes:

means for permitting access to said enclosure through said rear wall.

8. The article of claim 7, wherein the means for permitting access tosaid enclosure through said rear wall comprises:

at least one hinge joining one edge of the back wall to an adjacent wallof said second box-like member; and

latch means joining the opposite edge of said back wall to an adjacentopposite wall of said enclosure.

'9. The article of claim 8 wherein said front wall is provided with aplurality of said apertures and said second box-like portion supports aplurality of shelves.

10. A display case for utilization in theftproof merchandising of recordtape cartridges of generally standardized size and dimension,comprising:

enclosure means having at least one wall thereof formed from transparentmaterial and having a plurality of apertures formed through said onewall in spaced apart relationship, each of said apertures being largeenough to admit a human hand but small enough to prevent withdrawal ofone of said record tape cartridges;

support shelving means disposed within said enclosure, said supportshelving means being located to support one or more of said record tapecartridges within continuous view through said transparent one wall,said enclosure also defining a space between said support shelving meansand said transparent one wall which space is large enough to permit saidrecord tape cartridges to be grasped and manipulated by one or morehands as extended through selected one or more of said apertures.

11. A display case as set forth in claim 10 which is furthercharacterized in that:

a selected wall of said enclosure is hingedly affixed within saidenclosure and capable of being open to provide access to said enclosure;and

locking means aflixed on said enclosure for selectively locking saidhingedly afiixed wall in the closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,600,240 6/1952 Grieb 3121 XR2,238,112 4/1941 Hall 312-117 1,102,886 7/1914 Drake 312-417 CASMIR A.NUNBERG, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

